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Laowa 6mm f/2 Zero-D MFT - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
(Micro-)Four-Thirds
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published March 2023
Introduction
The release of the Panasonic/Leica DG Summilux 9mm f/1.7 ASPH killed a lot of the market of the emerging Chinese players in the ultra-wide segment - wide(r), fast, small, and affordable were important value propositions for them, and some of this is now basically owned by Panasonic. So what to do when facing the inevitable? You go even more extreme. Meet the Laowa 6mm f/2 Zero-D MFT. On paper, a difference of 3mm may not sound impressive, but it's far from insignificant in terms of field-of-view. We are talking about 112° vs 90° here. Short of fisheye lenses, the Laowa 6mm f/2 MFT is now also the widest option in the MFT system. And it's pretty affordable, too, at "just" $499.
Laowa lenses have always featured an impressive build quality, and the Laowa 6mm f/2 Zero-D MFT is no exception. The lens body is made of metal with a buttery smooth focus ring. Speaking of focusing - it doesn't offer an AF motor. This may not be ideal, but it doesn't matter too much at this focal length. That being said, it's still worth checking how your lens is calibrated with respect to the distance marks printed on the lens barrel. Sometimes, this is a little off. While the lens doesn't offer AF, it does have electronic contacts, so you can (and have to) control the aperture via the camera body. Unlike many ultra-wide lenses, the Laowa doesn't have a bulb-like front element and accepts (58mm) filters. There's a (metal) built-in lens hood. It's not overly deep but still deep enough to make attaching the lens cap a fiddly task.
EXIF data is provided; thus, while the lens has no image stabilizer, the correct focal length is transmitted to the camera for in-camera stabilization. It's worth noting that the Laowa 6mm f/2 Zero-D MFT can focus down to just 9cm. The resulting max object magnification of 1:5.5 may not be in macro territory yet, but it certainly adds some versatility for close-ups with a dramatic perspective.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length (full-format) | "12mm" (in terms of field-of-view) |
| Equiv. aperture (full-format) | "f/4" (in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 13 elements in 9 groups (4xED, 2x aspherical elements) |
| Number of aperture blades | 5 |
| min. focus distance | 0.09m (max. magnification 1:5.5) |
| Dimensions | Ø 61x52mm |
| Weight | 188g |
| Filter size | φ58mm |
| Hood | petal-shaped, built-in |
| Other features | - |
| Mount | Micro-Four-Thirds |
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